The invention relates to the securing of a printed circuit board in general, and, more particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus for securing a printed circuit board to an enclosure.
The current trend in the electronics industry when working on a printed circuit board (PCB) is to secure the PCB to a structure via screws. This process is very labor intensive and/or adds additional steps to the manufacturing process. For instance, either through automation or manual intervention the PCB is placed in a structure, screws are attached to the sides of the PCB for joining the PCB to the structure. The number of screws used can vary based on the level of attachment required. Unfortunately, space constraints do not always allow the use of screws to secure the PCB to a structure. Additionally, the screws can damage the PCB. Another approach to securing the PCB to a structure is to create a custom bracket for securing the PCB in the enclosure. However, different sized PCB can not be accommodated with out custom designing a bracket for each size PCB.
Therefore, a need exists in the art for a fastening arrangement that provides for easy insertion and removal of a fastener for securing the PCB and accommodating various sized PCBs.
The disadvantages associated with the prior art are overcome by an apparatus for securing a printed circuit board (PCB) to an enclosure. In an embodiment of the invention, a resilient fastener cooperates with the PCB to secure the PCB and cooperates with a plurality of apertures disposed on the floor of an enclosure. The resilient fastener comprises a plurality of hooks that slidably engage with the enclosure to pass under the floor of the enclosure, a pair of spring members for gripping the PCB and a pair of snapping locks for locking the resilient fastener in place.
Further embodiments of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description contained hereinafter. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.